Description
Heart Alfajores are delicate, tender sandwich cookies filled with luscious dulce de leche and coated with desiccated coconut. Perfect for gifting or special occasions, these charming heart-shaped treats combine a buttery shortbread-like texture with sweet caramel filling, creating a melt-in-your-mouth experience.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) All-purpose flour
- ½ cup (65 g) Cornstarch
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) Unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (100 g) Granulated sugar
- 3 large Egg yolks
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
Filling and Coating
- 1 ½ cups (339 g) Dulce de leche (store-bought or homemade)
- ½ cup (40 g) Desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Dry ingredients: Sift together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl to ensure they are well combined and aerated for a tender cookie texture.
- Wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened unsalted butter with granulated sugar until light and fluffy, then add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the pure vanilla extract for flavor.
- Combine: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the creamed butter mixture, stirring or kneading gently until a smooth dough forms.
- Chill: Divide the dough into two equal portions, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up the dough for easier handling and better rolling.
- Oven Preparation: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C, Gas Mark 4) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Cut Cookies: Roll each chilled dough portion out into a ¼-inch thick rectangle between parchment sheets for easy handling. Using heart-shaped cookie cutters, cut the dough into heart shapes and place them spaced on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake: Bake the cookies on the middle rack for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges just turn golden. Avoid overbaking to keep the cookies tender and pale.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
- Sandwich: Once cooled, spread a generous amount of dulce de leche onto the flat side of one cookie and sandwich it with another heart-shaped cookie.
- Coat: Roll the edges of the filled sandwich cookies in desiccated coconut to coat evenly, adding texture and flavor.
- Set: Place the finished alfajores on a tray or plate and let them set for at least one hour to allow the flavors to meld and the coconut to adhere firmly before serving.
Notes
- For best results, use quality dulce de leche, either homemade or store-bought, to achieve a rich caramel flavor.
- Chilling the dough is critical to maintain cookie shape and ensure a tender texture.
- Handle the dough gently and avoid overworking to keep cookies light rather than tough.
- If you don’t have desiccated coconut, finely grated coconut or finely chopped nuts can be used as alternatives for coating.
- Store finished alfajores in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated for up to a week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 40mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
